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SPEECH 



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HON. JAMES B. CLAY. OF KENTUCKY, 



ON 



THE NEUTRALITY LAWS; 



DELIVERED 



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 13, 1858. 









.WASHINGTON: 
PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE, 
1858. 



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THE NEUTRALITY LAWS 



The House having resolved itself into the Committee of 
the Whole on the state of the Union, and resumed the con- 
sideration of the President's annual message — 

Mr. CLAY said: 

Mr. Chairman: In arising for the first time 
in all my life to address any legislative assem- 
bly whatever, I confess that 1 do so Avitli all 
that diffidence and embarrassment that might be 
expected to surround one under such circum- 
stances. I am gratified, however, that I have the 
privilege, at this time, of rising to sustain what I 
believe to be law and order. I have seen the re- 
markable spectacle presented to this country of 
an Administration going out before the country 
apparently unsustained by its own friends. I 
have seen, sir, that on every message of the Pres- 
ident of the United States, to this House, or the 
other, opportunities have been taken to assail and 
to pick at him and his motives. In the message 
which the President of the United States has sent 
to this House, on the subject of our relations with 
Nicaragua, and in reference to the conduct of 
" General" William Walker, as his friends choose 
to call him, I am happy to say that I sustain him 
in every word that he has written. 

What are the facts of the case of General Walker 
as presented to this House and before the country? 
He is no citizen of the United States. He has 
expatriated himself. He has chosen, sir, to say 
to the world that he will no longer be covered by 
tl\e glorious stars and stripes of which we are so 
proud, and that he arrays himself under another 
flag, and has become the citizen of another coun- 
try . What have been his acts and his conduct while 
a citizen of that other country .' Brought home 
because there was a sympathy felt for him in this 



land of ours; brought home for the purpose of 
saving hisneck — a thing for which he should have 
been full of gratitude to the Government of the 
United States — what, sir, is his conduct when he 
obtains liberty upon this soil once again ? instant- 
ly he proceeds to levy war, to enroll men, and to 
collect arms and all the munitions of war, for the 
purpose of using them against a country with 
v/hich we are at peace. I have every sympathy for 
Walker, and for the gallant spirits who went with 
him to Nicaragua; nevertheless, while I entertain 
that sympathy for him, and for them, and while I 
believe that it is entertained by the whole country, 
I believe, sir, that it considers him, not as Gen- 
eral Walker, not as the President of Nicaragua, 
but as nothing more or less than a.Jillibuster. 

Sir, the proceedings of this gentleman in levying 
war against Nicaragua were so well known to the 
whole country, that it was necessary that instruc- 
tions should be given to the district attorneys and 
the other officers of this country to watch him, 
and to prevent him from carrying on that war 
which he was about levying. What does he do ? 
He is brought up before a court in New Orleans 
and held to bail, a bail very easily given, because 
among his friends were men at the North and 
elsewhere who had schemes and designs of their, 
own, and who were able to pay the $2,000 bail 
which this gentleman gave. But does that stop 
his proceedings for a single instant? Does that 
stop his designs for a moment? No, sir, he pro- 
ceeds with all his preparations. He carries them 
on. He puts his men and arms on board a vessel, 
and he puts one of his own officers in the first in- 
stance, as I believe the newspapers stated, on 
board in command of that vessel. But when it is 



found that she will not be permitted to sail under 
the command of that officer and under the flag 
■which he would have been bound to raise, if he 
raised any, the officer is withdrawn, and the 
American flag is run up at the fore, and her reg- 
istry and everything of that sort is passed through 
the custom-house in proper order. 

Sir, the vessel had on board the armed men and 
the armament of General Walker. Her clearance 
was obtained in fraud of our laws; and when that 
vessel left the port of Mobile, as I believe she 
did, she left in fraud of our laws, and evaded 
them. It ia my opinion that the same law which 
was meted out to an American vessel which went 
to the coast of Cuba, should have been meted out 
to that vessel which was willing to prostitute the 
flag of the American Union to the purposes of 
the fillibuster, General Walker. I believe that 
that vessel should have been seized; I believe she 
should have been tried before our courts; I be- 
Eeve that she subjected herself to forfeitui-e and 
eonfiscation. 

Gentlemen have contended that there is no 
power in this Government of the United States to 
seize her own citizens even when they are levying 
war against a foreign country with which we are 
at peace, and when they are not outside of the 
marine league. I believe, sir, in no such doctrine. 
I believe, so far as regards the duty of this Gov- 
ernment towards foreign nations, that it is the 
duty of the President of these United States and 
of all the authorities of this Government, under 
- the law of nations, to restrain our citizens from 
any such act. What would be the consequences 
if every man who pleased might fit out a vessel, 
and like the old vikings of the North, sail out for 
the purpose of acquiring territory, and invading 
territories with which we are at peace ? Would 
it not be to involve us, in all probability, in war 
with territories with which we are at peace, and 
with which we desire to maintain friendly rela- 
tions.' That would be the direct consequences; 
and the duty incumbent upon the authorities of 
this Government, under the law of nations, is to 
restrain such acts, and for the very reason that 
these consequences would be disastrous to our- 
selves. 

But, sir, it is not the case of a citizen of our 
own country that we are considering. It is the 
case of a man who is no citizen of ours; who has 
no right whatever to appeal to us for any of the 
rights of citizenship. He has chosen volunta- 
rily to expatriate himself. He has chosen, when 
this country had saved his life, when this country 
had thrown our broad asgis around him, to save 
iiim from death, to come amongst us and levy 



war in breach of the neutrality laws of this coun- 
try, if the law of nations did not suffice to pre- 
vent him from carrying on such an act. Why, 
sir, how does the case of this gentleman differ 
from that of Aaron Burr, with the single, sole ex- 
ception that Burr was a citizen, and this man was 
not a citizen ? So far as the records of the country 
show us, there was nothing ever proved against 
Aaron Burr making his conduct in the slightest 
degree different from the conduct pursued by Gen- 
eral Williani Walker; and yet the name of Aaroo 
Burr has been handed down to us, as it will be 
handed down to after times, coupled with th«- 
epithet of traitor. 

Sir, I maintain that it was the duty of the Pres- 
ident of the United States to stop this man in the 
first instance, from proceeding from our shores, 
with his armament against Nicaragua. I main- 
tain, sir, that if he had come into this country of 
ours, had raised a band of a hundred men with 
whom he might seek to attack any city or any 
portion of our people, and afterward had gone tto 
the sea-coast and got himself and men on board 
a vessel and sought to escape from the penalties 
of the laws of the country — I maintain thatund'er 
the law of nations, and without the law of 1818, 
the President of the United States might hav« 
directed him to have been followed by our ships 
of war, and brought back for trial and condemna- 
tion, if the facts were proved against him. Well, 
sir, he breaks not only the law of nations in this 
ease, but the statute law of the country — the law 
of 1818. He escapes from our shores under false 
colors, fraudulently escapes from our shores, and 
I maintain that it was not only within the power 
and authority, but that it was the duty of the 
President to send for him over the high seas, and 
have him brought back to this country. I think 
that the President stopped at precisely the right 
point, when he stopped atone marine league from 
the coast of Nicaragua. I am not in favor, even 
for any purpose of our own, of invading the ter- 
ritory of another country, even though good may 
come from so doing wrong; neither do I under- 
stand the President to be in favor of doing any 
such thing. 

I do not coincide with my honorable friend from 
Ohio, [Mr. Groesbeck,] although I agreed with 
him in almost everything else he said, that tbs 
President had the authority to send, or that the 
force of this country, either the Army or Navy, had 
the right to go upon the shores of a foreign country 
to execute our lavirs. But the President does not 
go to ths,t extent. He stops at the marine league ; 
and it is my opinion that under the law of nations, 
as well as under the neutrality laws of 1818, he 



had the I'ight, and it was his duty, to have gone 
just to that marine league on the shores of Nic- 
earagua, and no further. There he went, and thus 
far he upholds his officers ; he goes no further. 

But, sir, I have been astonished that men in 
this House, while maintaining the rights of this 
General Walker; while maintaining his rights, 
sometimes as a citizen, and at other times as a 
mere man — I say I am astonished at their casting 
such censures upon that gallant officer of our 
Navy, Commodore Paulding. I care not whether 
he be descended from the Paulding who seized 
Andre, and refused a bribe of British gold; I care 
not who his father may have been ; all I care about 
is the fact that he is an officer of the United States 
Government; that he had the epaulets of that 
Government upon his shoulders; and at the very 
day he was denounced in this House, by those 
for whom I entertain the highest respect, as having 
been guilty of an act of robbery; as having been 
ft kidnapper; as having been guilty of unofficer- 
like conduct — that at that very day the flag of his 
country was floating above him; and that, I have 
no doubt, had occasion arisen for him to have 
done so, he would have maintained it gallantly 
Mid well, as his father, in the early days of the 
Republic, maintained the honor of his country. 

Sir, what has Commodore Paulding done ? Up 
to the very moment he landed upon the shore 
of Nicaragua, he and those with him were fully 
borne out to the completestextent by the instruc- 
tions of the Government whose officer he was. It 
is not necessary for me to refer to those instruc- 
tions. It would take more time of this committee 
than I chose to consume, but there is no man who 
will read those instructions, as given repeatedly 
to the officers of that squadron, and other officers 
of the United States, who will not agree with me 
in saying that up to the moment of landing upon 
the shores of Nicaragua, Commodore Paulding 
was borne out to the fullest extent by the Exec- 
utive of this country. What, then, has he done? 
Knowing, sir, the extreme desire of this country 
to prevent this waging of war by this fillibuster 
Walker against Nicaragua, knowing the extreme 
desire of the Government to prevent it, this gen- 
tJeman, Commodore Paulding, perhaps with an 
excess of zeal, landed his men upon the shore 
and broke up the expedition. 

But, sir, he had some cause to send his men 
there to hold this General Walker responsible and 
accountable. Look at the letter of Mr. Cilley, a 
lieutenant of one of our ships, who went with the 
other otHcers upon the shore, with the uniform 
of the United States upon him. He goes there, 
as he had a right to go, to the shore of a country 



with which we were at peace; and how is he met? 
Before his boat reaches the landing even, he is 
ordered off. He is told that if he attempts to land 
he will be fired upon. The epaulets of our coun- 
try were to be fired upon. Our officer, going to a 
peaceful shore, was to be fired upon, by the order, 
as it was said, of General Walker, the commander 
of fiUibusters. 

Sir, if there had been no other cause for hold- 
ing these men to accountability, that, in my hum- 
ble opinion, would have been sufficient cause. I 
pledge my honor, that if I had been in the position 
of Commodore Paulding, and if Walker, or tb« 
citizen of any country, had dared to direct his 
men to present their muskets at the bosoms of 
my officers, I would have held him to such terms 
as would, perhaps, have saved a good deal of dis- 
cussion in this House about him. 

But, sir, the President has, in his message, cen- 
sured the conduct of Commodore Paulding. Ho 
has said that that officer committed a grave error, 
r agree with the President fully in that. I think 
that Commodore Paulding did, perhaps, exceed 
his instructions in landing on the shores of Nic- 
aragua, and in sending these men home to th« 
United States. But did he do so like a kidnapper? 
Did he do so like a robber ? Did he do so like a 
man conscious that he was doing a villainous act? 
I have no acquaintance with that gentleman, and 
I am not here as his special defender. But I say, 
sir, that he acted not as a robber, a kidnapper, or 
as a man who was committing a villainous act. He 
knew himself fully. He knew well that his zeal 
had perhaps carried him beyond hisinstri^ctions, 
and frankly, and in a manner manly, open, and 
above-board, he comes out in his letter to the De- 
partment and states that he was aware that he 
had exceeded his instructions, and that he wa« 
willing to bear such responsibility as the coun- 
try — which ought perhaps to be grateful to him — 
might choose to hold him to. 

I think that the censure contained in the Presi- 
dent's message is sufficient censure for the con- 
ductof Commodore Paulding. I think thatagainst 
this little Navy of ours, which ought to be our 
pride, and which, in old times, was our pride, 
enough has been said. Enough has been done to 
destroy it. Naval courts have been instituted for 
that purpose. A Spanish inquisition, almost, has 
been placed over its officers. Many of them, gal- 
lant and true, have been degraded from the posi- 
tions which they held. I am gratified, however, 
that many of them have been, at last, restored 
to the positions which they deserved to hold. I 
am not in favor of attacking any further the espi-it 
de corps of this Navy of ours. I am proud of our 



Navy. I glory in the gallant men who expose 
their lives to the tempest and to the waves in up- 
holding the flag of their country. I glory in those 
men. Although I come from the far West, where 
tlie plow, not the anchor, is our emblem, they 
will always find in me a defender. 

Sir, I am opposed altogether to this system of 
private warfare which is now attempted to be in- 
itiated in the history of the country. There are 
three modes of private warfare, to all of which, 
and to each of which, I am opposed. There is 
piracy on the high seas, to which every civilized 
man is opposed. There is buccaneering — a sys- 
tem under which, in that barbarous age, men 
thought they could prey upon the Spanish Main 
and rob the Spanish -American towns. They at- 
tacked the towns for the purpose of robbery, and 
not for the purpose of holdhig them. Then, 
again, there is this system of fillibusterism , which 
I conceive to be a relic of the dark ages. Under 
tliis system, men set out in their own ships, and 
with their own armaments, to take countries, not 
merely to rob them, but to hold them as conquer- 
ors. I am opposed to all this system. I believe 
that whenever we shall need Central America, or 
any portion of it, we have it within our gi'asp, 
and can take it. 1 believe that the proper means 
of civilizing these semi-barbarous lands is by 
emigration, peaceful emigration — not that emi- 
gration where the musket and bayonet are in the 
hands of the emigrant. Peaceful emigration is 
the proper course. When the day shall arrive 
that any portion of the fair and sunny South, from 



Cuba to the remotest province of Central Amer- 
ica, is necessary to this nation, let the flag of the 
Union be thrown out, and there will be volunteers 
enough to march under it and take whatever may 
be thought necessary for us to have. For my 
part, I will march under no flag but the flag of 
the Union. I will keep step to no music but th« 
music of the Union. 

Sir, as to the resolutions before the committee, 
I have no objection to them. I have no objeo- 
tion to the reference of the President's message, 
or of any part of it, to the appropriate committees. 
1 have not the slightest objection to the reference 
of the whole subject of the neutrality laws to a 
proper committee. I care not much whether it 
be to one of the standing committees of the House, 
or to a select committee. I am not prepared to 
say to what extent I would uphold the present 
neutrality laws of the country. I do not think it 
necessary now to express any opinion in refer- 
ence to that, further than I have done. At a 
proper time and in a proper place I may again ask 
leave of the House to express the views which I 
entertain on that subject. I have accomplished 
all I intended to do now. I have, feebly, I know, 
but to the best of my humble ability, attempted 
to sustain the President of the United States in 
the views he has taken, and have attei^ipted to 
vindicate the honor of the epaulets and of the flag 
of this country. In doing that, I feel that I have 
only done a duty which I owe to myself, and 
which I owe to the constituency which I ha%-e the 
honor to represent. 



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